Briefly Back to the Beach

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THE thing to do in Mui Ne, a beach town several hours north of Saigon, is kite and wind surfing.  At least 300 days a year of powerful winds, and that certainly included our two-day stay there.  For the rest of us non-wind adept travelers, the wind picks up so strongly afternoon that it can even make lying on a beautiful white sand beach unenjoyable.  Watching these beautiful wind warriors at play, however, was quite a trip.

Since we were unable to explore the wind's magical powers, we did what everybody else does in Mui Ne, go to the magnificient and multi-colored sand dunes.  We saw the White Sand Dune, the Red Sand Dune, and maybe the yellow sand dune though I'm not sure about that.  We also saw a Red Canyon, and we walked through something they call Fairy Stream, which was basically a cool stream in the desert with a waterfall at the end.  I drove the scooter though at times I think the wind was driving.  The White Sand Dune was the most spectacular with a fresh water lake at the bottom of the dunes within view of the South China Sea.  We did some sand-sledding on the dunes (there is video) and I took a dip in the freshwater lake.  We tried to catch the sunset at the Red Sand Dune but instead we caught a mouthful of sand as the wind whipped up at dusk, and the sunset was obscured by dark clouds.  The sun has not been participating thus far on our trip.  Everytime we try to see a sunrise or sunset, something diminishes the sun's greatness, yet everyday the sun manages to unyieldingly pound down on us and has managed thus far to burn my inner thighs, Rinat's tush, and my back.  Needless to say, Rinat's olive color is coming out in full force, and I am tanning like a Cambodian.

Needless to say, Rinat's olive color is coming out in full force, and I am tanning like a Cambodian.

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Oooh, maybe the sweetest moment of the trip thus far happened during one of Mui Ne's regular blackouts.  This one, right after sunset, forced us out onto the beach, because our room without A/C was unbearable where we briefly asleep together until the power returned.  I know I've been abusing superlatives in this journal entry, but the stars were superific!  ;-)